World humanitarian day 2014: Reflecting on 10 years of forgotten crises

A number of crises around the world continue to be forgotten and don’t receive the funding required to meet people’s needs.

Our map shows countries that have appeared on the European Commission’s Department for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection’s (ECHO) Forgotten Crisis Assessment (FCA) Index over the past 10 years. A number of the countries appearing consistently for nine or more years (shaded in black) are in South and South-East Asia, such as Nepal, India and Myanmar,

Despite indicating a level of unmet need, appearing on the FCA Index does not have a consistent correlation with the amount of humanitarian assistance then received. Funding to some countries, such as Myanmar, has increased but fluctuated in response to different crisis. In other cases, appearing on the index has seen consistent but gradual increases in funding. For example, the Central African Republic (CAR) received increased funding year on year since the country first appeared in the index, apart from in 2012. But CAR has remained on the index due to low rankings against other assessment criteria.[1]

To achieve a more even coverage of needs, the challenge remains to systematically ensure that funds are allocated based on an improved understanding of needs both at country and global levels. To achieve this, we need improved data collection, analysis and accessibility and for donors to work together to better share their analysis of funding needs and gaps, and to agree and act on a collective analysis of priority needs.

The above chart is an extract from the forthcoming 2014 Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) report. The report provides an up-to-date and comprehensive picture of global humanitarian financing and a more detailed assessment of how far funding needs have been met.

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The 2014 GHA report will be released online in September 2014.

Notes:

[1] ECHO forgotten crisis assessment (FCA) index is compiled annually using a series of weighted indicators. These include vulnerability, media coverage, public aid per capita, and a qualitative assessment by ECHO geographical unites and experts.